Segovia’s Roman Aqueduct

By most accounts, Segovia’s Roman aqueduct was built sometime around the 1st or 2nd Century AD. It stands more than 93 feet tall including the foundation, which reaches down about 16 feet. Building this device was no small task, but the Romans were no amateurs. I had the pleasure of visiting Segovia again this May, and made a short video showing the structure as it stretches above the plaza below. Take a look:

The structure has been in use since it was built with a few interruptions and repairs. The Moors destroyed a piece of it, but it was subsequently rebuilt under the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. There are also accessory structures such as the “water house” that are part of the water system. These are less popular destinations but important to understand the thoroughness with which the Romans created their civilization.

I’ll have more photos and video about Segovia soon. It is an interesting city to visit and I hope to get there again.

Published in: on May 4, 2010 at 6:56 pm  Comments (1)  
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Church of the Vera Cruz, Segovia

Just down the hill from the center of Segovia, Spain, you will find the Church of the Vera Cruz. This twelve-sided church was built by that zany bunch known as the Knights Templar. To say they got around back in the day is perhaps the understatement of this blog to date. Whatever their secrets, causes, or acts, the Knights Templar built quite a few structures. Here is a view looking down at the chruch:

The church sits there on the hill, by its lonesome. It was alleged to have a piece of the true cross, hence the name. It is a Romanesque structure with heavy walls, small windows, and regular arches. The tower stands to the south.

What impresses me about this building and many others like it, is the durability of it. It is more than 800 years old and there have been quite a few wars, disasters, and plain old decay over the centuries. Yet the building remains. Surely it has been repaired along the way, but for the most part, it looks as it would have to the people who built it. They modeled it after the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, which speaks to a certain continuity of thought that spans the extremes of the Mediterranean.

How many things are built in our time that will last this long? I understand the need to make improvements. However, once in a while I find myself wondering if constant architectural regurgitation doesn’t detract from a sense of community and permanence. Just one of the things I ponder now and then. Maybe you do the same.

Published in: on July 2, 2008 at 12:42 pm  Comments (2)  
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